


Sad Eyes

by orphan_account



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-12
Updated: 2013-07-12
Packaged: 2017-12-18 03:27:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/875081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coffee Shop AU: Sansa Stark is a beautiful enigma with sad eyes who works at the coffee shop, Highgarden. Aegon Targaryen is a regular customer, but he doesn't come there for the coffee. Each visit draws Sansa a little more out of her shell, until she is finally left exposed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sad Eyes

The blue haired boy with the intense purple eyes was there for the fifteenth time that month. He always showed up at the exact same time everyday, and always stood at her counter. His visits never varied, and neither did his orders. It was like clockwork. He flashed a cocky grin that had now become a familiar sight and asked, in a surprisingly friendly voice, for "just a coffee, thanks". 

As Sansa took down his order, she could see him out of the corner of her eye. He always smiled at her, even when she wasn't looking - _especially_ when she wasn't looking. In fact, Sansa doubted she had ever seen him without his trademark smile. It was a little frustrating at times. 

"I'd like to kiss that smug grin off his face." She thought suddenly, clenching her jaw to hide the smile that had sprung to her lips. "Wipe that smile away." 

"Thank you!" He said with a half-wink, taking his coffee from her. Sansa smiled, since it was store policy to always smile at your customers. 

Sansa watched him walk away with a cheery bounce in his step. He was attractive, she admitted, in a sort of bright, dorky way. He paused at the door, and for a moment she fancied he would look back at her. But with a slight tilt of his head in her direction, he strode abruptly outside and the door swung shut. 

"Daydreaming?" 

"Marg!" Sansa snapped back to reality, chiding herself for being distracted. "Sorry, I- I was tired..." 

Margaery Tyrell, daughter of Sansa's employer, looked more amused than annoyed. The Tyrells had been very kind to Sansa, taking her in on short notice and being very lenient with her. Margaery had taken Sansa under her wing and helped her to settle down in her new job. Sansa had warmed to her almost immediately and the two were the best of friends. 

"Relax." Margaery laughed. "Business is pretty slow this early anyway." 

Sansa smiled tentatively. 

"Besides." She added slyly. "That gives your dream boy more time with you." 

"He's not my dream boy!" Sansa said quickly. "I don't even know who he is." 

Margaery cocked her eyebrows and laughed again. 

"Whatever you say, little bird."  


* * *

  


Aegon Targaryen took a deep breath to steady himself. Today marked the end of his first month of coffee at Highgarden. The coffee was mediocre, maybe good, at best, but the only reason he returned was for the beautiful girl with sad eyes. He didn't even know her name, but something in her eyes brought him back everyday, and he'd eventually given up on trying to stay away from her. The least he could do, he decided, was to learn her name. 

Adopting a cocky demeanour to reassert his poise, he gathered up the courage to stride in. 

"Good morning!" He smiled brightly, pleased to see her there. 

"Good morning." She murmured with a hint of a song in her voice and the slightest of smiles. "Can I take your order?" 

"Just a coffee, thanks." He said, lounging on the counter. 

As she took down his order he couldn't help but notice how a strand of her red hair had fallen lightly on her face. One of her hands rested on the counter, and he fought back a sudden urge to place his hand over hers and look into her sad blue eyes. 

"I wish I could just kiss her all of a sudden." He thought, picturing a look of surprise on her face. "Then maybe she wouldn't look so sad." 

She handed him his coffee without a word, and Aegon realised that in the midst of his daydreams, he'd forgotten to ask for her name. Desperate to strike up a quick conversation, he struggled to choose between "You have lovely eyes" and "It's terrible weather". 

"You have terrible weather." He blurted, and then laughed at what he'd just said. "I mean, it's terrible weather. You're not terrible. You're lovely." 

She stared at him for a few moments with an unreadable expression, and Aegon fancied that her eyes didn't look quite as sad. 

"Thank you." She stammered. "It is terrible. The weather! Not me. I mean not that I'm... It's... " 

Aegon sensed her discomfort. "I'm Aegon Targaryen." He held out his hand. 

The girl recovered herself and shook it. "Sansa Stark." 

"Sansa." Aegon said out loud, letting her name slide across his tongue. The girl visibly flushed. 

"I like it." He winked, picking up his coffee.

  


* * *

  


Sansa did her best to push Aegon away after that, and she refused to even look him in the eye. He, of course, was not deterred and persisted in his attempts to draw her out of her shell. His smile grew brighter and his conversations friendlier. Without revealing anything about herself, she learned that he'd moved into town to be closer to his family. His aunt, he said. He'd moved around a lot in his childhood and Sansa gathered that he'd had family issues as well. He never mentioned his parents (though he did once say that they'd been madly in love), but she inferred enough from his silence. 

She liked him. To deny that she liked him would be a lie. But she didn't _want_ to like him. And so she kept trying to distance herself. She answered most of his questions with shrugs, and never returned any of his smiles. She almost had herself convinced that she didn't care for him. Aegon Targaryen didn't concern her. 

But the truth, that she only admitted to herself when she curled up in bed, was that he was probably the only friend she had. Margaery was more like family anyway. Sansa had detached herself from everyone after her father's death, and devoted herself to looking after her broken little family. 

" _Hey_ , Sansa." 

She looked up with a sinking feeling. "Joffrey." 

His grin both frightened and angered her. "Is Margaery around?" 

"Marg!" She called out, not wanting to leave the counter. Aegon would be there soon. 

"How are you?" He asked with a hint of malice in his voice. 

"Fine." She answered curtly, not looking him in the eye. She loved Margaery, but she just didn't understand how she'd gotten engaged to someone like Joffrey. Family politics, she supposed, from what she'd heard. 

"Hello!" 

Sansa had never been happier to hear Aegon's voice. He insisted on greeting her with a "Hello!" every morning, which she secretly found adorable. 

Joffrey turned and examined Aegon with barely concealed curiousity. 

"You're the Targaryen." He stated in an almost accusing tone. 

"Hello." Aegon replied coolly and with equal curiousity. 

"Sansa?" Margaery appeared from behind. "You called?" 

"Joffrey wanted you." She said, relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with him any longer. 

"Both of you." He corrected, smirking. "It's my twenty-fifth birthday next week." 

"I'll be there." Margaery assured him. 

"Sansa?" 

She hesitated, too afraid to say no, and too afraid to go. 

"Maybe." She relented. 

Joffrey narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Sansa sensed Margaery tense up in case he made a cruel remark, but, thankfully, he contented himself with rolling his eyes. 

"You too." He said sharply to Aegon. "And your aunt." 

Without further ado, he blew Margaery a disdainful kiss and walked away. 

"Sometimes I don't know why I put up with him." Margaery murmured to Sansa. 

"Neither do I." Sansa agreed. 

The older girl sighed. "Grandmother gets what grandmother wants." 

Aegon coughed politely. 

"Coffee." Margaery remembered, and headed back inside. 

"Well." Aegon said, obviously feeling odd. "Who was that?" 

"Margaery's fiancé." Sansa explained. "Joffrey Baratheon." 

He grinned. " _Baratheon_. That's a funny name." 

"Targaryen." Sansa pointed out, before she could stop herself. 

Aegon laughed, and this time Sansa couldn't hold back a smile. 

  


* * *

  


"Looking for your girlfriend?" 

"She's not..." Aegon sighed. 

Dany looked exasperated. "This is the worst party I've ever been to." 

"We need to get to know the town." Aegon mimicked. "Make _friends_." 

She punched him. "Not _these_ friends. The guy's a total ass." 

"But free food!" Aegon grinned at her. 

She glared at him. 

She was right, of course. In the brief hour that he had mingled with the party guests, he learned that Joffrey was not only a royal pain, but also Sansa's ex. They'd broken up because of some misunderstanding - nobody was quite sure what - a few months ago. Barely a week later, to everyone's surprise, he'd proposed to Margaery Tyrell. To everyone's even greater surprise, she'd accepted. 

Rumour was that the engagement had been planned by Margaery's grandmother and Joffrey's family, but there was no evidence to suggest so. Only the fact that Margaery could do much better than a boy like Joffrey. 

"I can't believe you're putting me through this for a summer fling." Dany grumbled. 

But Aegon wasn't paying attention to her anymore. He'd glimpsed Sansa for a millisecond, and he excused himself and pushed his way through the crowd. 

"Sansa!" He called. 

She turned around and his breath caught. He'd only ever seen her in her work clothes. In the evening light, her face shone and her loose red hair shimmered. 

"Hello!" He said after a beat. 

She smiled faintly. "I didn't think you'd come." 

Aegon smiled back and held out his arm, taking her aback with his surprisingly formal gesture. She took it. 

"There's someone I want you to meet." He said, leading her back through the crowd. 

"Dany!" 

His aunt spun around, looking annoyed. Her eyes landed on Sansa, and her expression immediately turned to one of polite curiousity. 

"Hey." 

"This is Sansa." 

"Hi." Sansa said a little shyly, intimidated by the beautiful girl who stood before her. 

"I'm his aunt." She held out a hand and Sansa shook it. "Daenerys." 

If Sansa was surprised at how young Daenerys was, she made no comment. 

"Hi." She said again. "I heard you're new in town. How do you like it so far?" 

"Some of the people are nice." She said noncommittally. "I haven't been around much." 

"Daenerys writes." Aegon explained. "Mythology." 

"Mythological creatures." Dany smiled. "They've always fascinated me. I've been busy with research." 

Daenerys, Aegon thought a little bitterly, was _always_ busy with research. That was why they moved around so much. She claimed that research had to be experienced and not copied from a computer screen. Places with historical significance, famous objects or museums, or an urban legend - these were the places Daenerys was likely to be found. She only sat down in front of her computer after she had completed all her "hands-on" research, as she liked to call it. 

"That sounds interesting!" And Sansa did seem genuinely interested. "Could I see some of your work?" 

Daenerys's smile widened, and Aegon knew Sansa had endeared herself to his aunt with that single question. 

"Any time you want!" 

Sansa unhooked her arm from Aegon's and struck up a conversation with Dany, asking her about what kind of myths she liked, what kind of research she did. And Dany had plenty of fascinating stories to tell. She'd been to places and met people Sansa couldn't even have imagined, and soon she was drinking in tales of giant dragons and golden cities with over a thousand slaves, and so much more. Aegon, who had never really cared much for his aunt's research, preferring a more modern environment, found himself engrossed in her stories. He'd never realised how interesting her work was. 

After what seemed like hours, Joffrey's loud voice broke the illusion that Dany had created. 

"Drinks!" 

The crowd cheered and laughed, and Sansa turned pale. "I should leave now." 

"Let me walk you out." He touched her arm and she jerked back violently. He stared at her, and her eyes widened in embarrassment and - he was certain - fear. 

"It's alright. Thank you, both of you. It was nice." She turned abruptly and walked away as fast as she could. 

"Sansa." Aegon made to follow her but Daenerys caught him. 

"Leave her alone." Dany said. "You think you're being romantic by following her, but she obviously doesn't want you to. That's not romantic - it's practically stalking." 

"I'm not stalking her!" Aegon argued, but quailed under Daenerys's stern look. 

"Fine." He shook his arm free.  


* * *

  


Sansa was thoroughly embarrassed. She couldn't believe how she'd run out of the party on Friday. What would Aegon and Daenerys have thought? She groaned. She knew better than to blame herself, but she wondered if Aegon would see it the same way. She wouldn't be surprised if Aegon stopped showing up at Highgarden.

But she was grateful for one thing, and that was that Aegon hadn't followed her out. She'd been afraid that he would run after her with some misguided notion of chivalry, but he'd done the decent thing. She hoped that he'd display the same level of understanding and not be offended.

The door opened and Sansa was simultaneously panicked (what would Aegon say?) and relieved (that he hadn't stopped showing up). 

"Hello!" 

Sansa forced herself to look up and smile at him. "Hi." 

"Don't worry about Friday night." 

"What?" 

"That you left. It's cool." He flashed a bright smile. 

"It's... cool?" 

"Yep, no problem! I hope you had fun, though." 

Sansa liked Aegon. She really did. But her pride stung a little at his remark. Why was he treating it as though it were her fault? 

"I'll get your coffee." She said, and Aegon stared at her. 

"Don't you want to talk about it?" 

"No." She said curtly, suddenly tired - very tired - of him. 

"You're not even going to tell _me_?" 

"No." 

"You did run out on me." 

Sansa didn't reply and there was an uncomfortable silence 

"Are you mad at me?" 

Sansa sighed. "I really don't want to talk about it." 

"Did I do something?" He pressured. 

Sansa had had enough. "Maybe I just don't want to talk!" 

Aegon had twice as much pride as Sansa did, and he recoiled. 

"Forget the coffee." And he was gone.

Sansa leaned against the counter and massaged her temples. She was upset (and a little guilty), but most of all she was disappointed. She hadn't thought that Aegon could be so... full of himself. He was charming and friendly enough, but he expected too much of her. She wasn't a damsel in distress who needed rescuing, and she suspected that he was used to girls fawning over him. 

She straightened up abruptly. She was done pining over boys who assumed that they were better. If her experience with Joffrey hadn't taught her a lesson, then she would never learn. Aegon was wonderful, but he would never see past her surface. She doubted he'd ever been heartbroken. 

But Sansa's poor heart had been broken one too many times.  


* * *

  


Aegon was fuming. He'd assumed Sansa to be sweet and soft-spoken, but she'd lashed out at him! She probably thought that Aegon would come running back to her like a lost puppy, but the Targaryens didn't stand insults. 

A pen smacked against his forehead. 

"Ow!" 

"You've been sitting there all afternoon. Are you going to sulk all day?" Dany demanded. 

"I'm not sulking." He tossed the pen back at her. 

She threw it back, hitting him right on his nose. "You didn't get coffee today." 

"So?" 

"Did you say something to Sansa?" 

"Me?" He sat up incredulously. 

"Yes, you." She said. "And your ego." 

"I don't have-" He glared. "Was I supposed to let her insult me?" 

His aunt raised a delicate eyebrow. "Everything is an insult to you. Is this about the party?" 

"She wouldn't tell me about it." 

"So?" 

"So? She ran out on us." 

"It wasn't your party to run out on." She observed. 

"No, but she was with me." 

Daenerys sighed. She loved her nephew, and she would defend him to the death, but sometimes he could be a real... jerk. Aegon tended to assume that everyone he befriended had some sort of obligation to him, and he didn't understand the concept of needing space. Nobody could say he didn't care about his friends, but he had a convoluted and often mistaken way of expressing it. 

"You should apologise." She said, correctly guessing what would have transpired between the two. 

"What?" 

"Listen, you idiot." Dany snapped. "Sansa Stark is a human being. And like all humans, she needs time to gain trust and confidence in another person, and if you don't apologise, you're going to break all the trust you've built." 

"Apologise for what?" 

"Being an egoistic ass. And for blaming her for _running out_." 

"I don't blame her." 

"Then you obviously don't know how to communicate, because that's what it sounded like to me."

Aegon opened his mouth to retort, but closed it at the dangerous glint in his aunt's eyes. Dany had always given him good counsel, and he valued her judgement more than anyone else's. For once, he decided, he would swallow his pride. 

"I'll... talk to her."  


* * *

  


The small, weather-beaten house stood precariously, as though it could collapse any minute. The paint was peeling around the edges and the garden was unkempt. A few birds had nested in the roof, dislodging some of the bricks. On the whole, the structure appeared to be uncared for, and one could only wonder at what kind of a broken family lived inside. 

Aegon stared. When Margaery had given him Sansa's address, he'd never imagined a house such as this. In his mind, Sansa was associated with wealth and beauty and subtle glamour. Not this dilapidated old building. 

The sign out front read "WINTERFELL". He didn't know about winter, but hard times had certainly fallen upon this house. 

Taking a deep breath, he rapped smartly on the door. Almost instantly, the door swung open and a tall, lanky girl stared back. She looked as though she were in her late teens, and her choppy brown hair hung about her face. Leaning casually against the door frame, the girl asked. "Can I help you?" 

"I'm looking for Sansa Stark?" He asked politely. 

The girl raised her eyebrows and, without moving, called out. "SANSAAA!" 

"WHAT?" The yell came from out back. 

"SOMEONE HERE TO SEE YOU." 

Aegon flinched unvoluntarily at all the yelling. A boy in a wheelchair rolled out of a room and glared at the girl, ignoring Aegon's presence. 

"Shut up." He said. "I'm trying to concentrate." 

"Sorry." She whispered dramatically. 

Aegon watched the scene, feeling a little left out and surprised. This wasn't how he had pictured Sansa's family. Where were the pretty mother and the beaming father who were supposed to greet him? 

Sansa appeared all of a sudden, and her eyes widened as she saw Aegon. 

"It's fine, Arya." She said to the girl. 

Arya looked at the two of them, shrugged, and walked back inside. Aegon heard her arguing with the boy in the wheelchair, but Sansa was blocking his vision. 

"What do you want?" She asked wearily. 

Aegon was surprised at how weary and sad Sansa still looked. He'd thought that she'd be much more relaxed and carefree at home. But it seemed that a lot of his assumptions about the beautiful girl with the sad eyes were wrong. 

"I'm... sorry. For being an egoistic ass. I didn't mean to blame you." 

"But you did." She said, and Aegon fancied that her gaze had softened. 

"I know. And I'm really sorry. That wasn't appropriate." 

This time, her gaze visibly softened.

"Okay." She said, nodding. "Do you want to go get a coffee?"  


* * *

  


"So..." Aegon broke the silence. "Your family?" 

Sansa's hands were buried deep in her pockets, and she stared down at them. "Yeah." 

"Your sister?" 

"Arya. And I have thr- two brothers." 

"Oh." 

They walked in silence for a while, and Aegon tried to come up with an agreeable conversation topic. 

"Do you have any siblings?" Sansa asked. 

"I used to have a sister." He said. "But she... well." 

"I'm sorry." Sansa said, and she seemed genuinely sorry. "Is that why you live with your aunt?" 

"Yeah. My parents and sister died when I was really young, and Dany and I were both brought up by foster parents. She's more like a sister, really, but she's my biological aunt. We're the last members of our family." 

"The last?" Sansa was a little surprised. 

"Dany had a brother- Viserys. But he got mixed up in child trafficking and tried to sell her to some people. He messed up one of his bargains before he could, and he was shot." 

Sansa was horrified, and Aegon laughed at her expression. "It's alright. I never liked him anyway. He was really abusive." 

"I didn't know you had a rough childhood." 

He shrugged. "Doesn't everyone? I'm thankful for Dany, though. She's everything I could ever have asked for, and she's all the family I need." 

Sansa smiled a little sadly. "It's nice that the two of you have a good relationship." 

"And you and your siblings...?" 

Sansa didn't reply for such a long time that Aegon almost thought that she hadn't heard him. But he eventually heard her sigh and she told him. 

"I used to be really close to my brother- Robb. We got along as well as Arya and Jon and he was, well, my favourite. I loved him." 

"What happened to him?" 

"He died. Robb and my mother. They were shot at a wedding. You probably heard about it on the news." 

Of course, the Red Wedding. There had been over a hundred guests at the wedding of a rich young man and the celebrations had lasted late into the night. Then some crazy Americans had pulled out their guns and shot all the guests, and then shot themselves. Nobody knew why, although rumours were that the best man had swindled an American company, and the owner had exacted his revenge. 

"I'm so sorry." 

"It was his wedding." She said sadly. "He was so excited." 

"At least you still have the rest of your family." He didn't know what to say. 

"Father died before Robb got married. The official police report was an accident, but mother always said he was murdered." 

"So you take care of your family." 

"Just me, Arya, Bran and Rickon. After the Red Wedding, everyone cheated us - we were only children - and all of Robb's hard-earned money was taken. Arya's staying at home because we can't afford college. Luckily, we aren't dirt-poor yet. But taking care of Bran is a lot of effort, and he hates himself for it. He says he's being a burden. Sometimes I just wish..." She sighed. 

"I'm sorry." Aegon said lamely. "I didn't know." 

She shook herself out of her reverie. "It's okay."

"I think it's great." Aegon blurted, as they neared the cafe. "That you take care of your family and... you're great. It can't be easy." 

"It can't be easy for you and Dany either." She said, her eyes silently thanking him for understanding. 

He pulled the door open and the two walked in. It was pretty early in the evening, so there were few guests scattered across the tables. The waiters lounged at the counter, on the lookout for customers. They all snapped to attention when Sansa and Aegon walked in and took a table. 

Sansa barely even glanced at the menu. "I'll just have a Cappuccino." 

"Just a coffee for me." Aegon said, and the two smiled. 

While Sansa placed the order, Aegon studied her. She seemed more relaxed than usual, unless that was just his imagination. But he was grateful that she hadn't held a grudge against him. 

"So," Aegon chose what he thought would be a more light-hearted topic. "You and Joffrey?" 

A shadow of... something passed across Sansa's face and Aegon ran a nervous hand through his blue hair. Sansa's blue eyes flickered at him, and Aegon had never seen them sadder. 

"I'm sorry." He said quickly. 

"It's okay." She said, the shadow passing. "He just... It was a messy break-up." 

"Oh." 

She sighed again. "He used to be a great guy but then... I don't know. One day he just turned into an ass. I still don't know why I stayed with him, but it was a mistake." 

She paused as the waiter clinked their drinks down on the table, and she looked up at Aegon from across the rising steam. 

"We were at a party one night." She continued. "Joffrey drank more than I've ever seen him drink, and it's like he wasn't himself anymore. He thought it would be fun if his friends..." She shuddered, and Aegon knew that he couldn't ask her to say any more. Her silence was enough for him to understand what had happened that night, long ago. 

Sansa toyed with her coffee mug. 

"Did you tell anyone?" 

She shrugged. "Who would believe me? And I didn't want Robb to get himself into trouble with Joffrey." 

"Your family doesn't know?!" 

"They have enough to worry about." 

Aegon stirred his coffee anxiously. Who would ensure that Joffrey never hurt Sansa again? He wouldn't put such cruelty past Joffrey a second time.

Sansa was brave, he realised suddenly. He'd never thought about it, because Sansa didn't look like the kind of a girl who would put up a fight or generate conflict. But to bear the weight of all this misfortune alone, and work hard to care for her family... that required a rare kind of emotional strength. One he didn't think even he was capable of. She was probably the bravest person he knew, to hide all this sadness within her, and still smile at him everyday. 

He looked up to see her smiling fondly at him, and he smiled back. Steam no longer rose from their coffees, which were growing colder with every passing second, but Aegon couldn't care less. 

Sansa's eyes were no longer sad.  


* * *

  


Sansa stared into the mirror, and a pair of sad blue eyes stared back at her. She was still young and beautiful, but her eyes spoke of sorrow and a past she would rather leave behind. She wanted a new beginning. She _needed_ a new beginning. 

"What are you going to say?" Arya asked, concerned. 

Arya rarely, if ever, openly displayed concern for her sister. Her facade of a cynical attitude only broke under great emotion. 

What could Sansa say? The marriage would be the best thing to happen to her. Tyrion Lannister was rich and influential, and Sansa knew he was different from the rest of family. Maybe Arya could finally get the education she deserved. 

A necklace of purple beads winked at her from the shelf, and her heart stopped as she remembered purple eyes that used to wink at her. Purple eyes that stared into her soul, and a handsome face that kissed her ever-so-sweetly under the sunset. Blue hair that she had run her hands through affectionately. And then? There hadn't even been a note to explain his absence - only the town rumours and gossip. 

Sansa Stark had not smiled since, and her blue eyes wept invisible tears.


End file.
